On 29 March 2010 19:18, Carcharoth carcharothwp@googlemail.com wrote:
How so? Number of countries is 193 (roughly), but even if you factor in the fact that some countries share languages and some countries are a bit, well, small, you still have something that could approach a factor of x10 (i.e. an order of magnitude).
Because once you move outside Western Europe and north America you don't have to go back very far before record have been lost, destroyed, never kept or kept by Western Euorpeans.
Take Ghana for example. Records are extremely thin (the odd islamic report, Portuguese and Dutch reports from the cost from the 15th century onwars). Solid records of the whole area don't appear until the British set fire to/pacified it in the 19th century.
Take Asamani an accra chief. Managed to capture Osu Castle back the 1690s. A few records exist of that and reports of European traders who apparently had no problems trading with him while he occupied the castle. Other than that he hardly seems to exist.